1 . I was in seat 10F next to the emergency exit. A few minutes after take-off there was a loud explosion. Everybody gasped (倒抽气) and there were a few screams. Then, surprisingly, it went very quiet — everyone was assessing the situation.
It soon became obvious we weren’t going back to LaGuardia Airport and that we were heading for the water. I started thinking this was it. Then I heard the announcement, ‘This is the captain, brace for impact,’ and everything suddenly got clear. I had to stop thinking about death, and instead, about what I should do once the pilot landed in the water. ‘You sat in this seat,’ I thought, ‘you’ve got to get this door open.’
At about 300 feet (91.5 meters), I started reading the instructions. There were six steps, and I had just read them two or three times when we hit the water. It felt like the worst car crash you could imagine. Fortunately, I’d just read the instructions and managed to get the door open. The wing was sinking lower and lower. I walked out onto it and walked as far along as I could to make room for other people. It was freezing, and nobody had a jacket. Some people were underwater to their waists.
It felt like half an hour before we saw the first ferry, though it could have been only five or ten minutes. I was fourth onto the ferry, and I started helping people onto the boat. To our relief, everyone had survived the crash.
I got through the whole incident by taking it one step at a time: get the door open, throw the door out, figure out if you’re sinking. I just kept on doing that until I reached solid ground. Only then did I go into the men’s room and cry for a few minutes.
1. After hearing a loud explosion, what did passengers, including the writer, do?| A．They put on life jackets as instructed. |
| B．They tried to figure what had happened. |
| C．They couldn’t help shouting for help on end. |
| D．They asked the pilot to fly to LaGuardia Airport. |
| A．He sat by the emergency exit. | B．He had an experienced neighbor. |
| C．He was once taught how to open it. | D．He read and understood the instructions. |
| A．Humorous. | B．Aggressive. | C．Organized. | D．Expressive. |
| A．No one got killed in it. | B．It happened at the end of the trip. |
| C．The pilot managed to land the plane safely. | D．A ferry came to the rescue the moment it happened. |
2 . No visit to the beautiful city of Paris, France is complete without a visit to the Notre Dame de Paris. The cathedral, built from 1163 to 1345, is one of the world's best examples of ancient architecture. It lies in the center of Paris, along the Seine River. French writer Victor Hugo used it as the setting of his famous story The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Unfortunately, on April 15, 2019. the old cathedral was covered in a big flame.
The initial fire alert sounded at 6:20 pm local time. Church officials quickly evacuated the tourists inside. As it turned out, they made the right decision when the second alarm went off twenty-three minutes later at 6:43 pm, the flames were visible. Thousands of passers-by watched in horror as the fire began destroying Notre Dame's rooftop. It took hundreds of firefighters, who worked through the night, over 12 hours to put out the fire. By the time the fire was fully contained in the early hours of Tuesday, April 16. 2019, most of the cathedral's ceiling, as well as its wooden spire — which had proudly stood 93 meters above the root for centuries — had collapsed.
Fortunately, thanks to quick action by Paris firefighters, the cathedral's most sacred relic — the Crown of Thorns — was safely transported after the fire broke out. Church officials and firefighters formed a human chain to remove other priceless treasures, such as artworks and furnishings, and load them onto waiting police cars. The cathedral's famous 18th-century organ, which boasts more than 8.000 pipes, also survived the disaster.
The tire is believed to be caused by the cathedral's ongoing repair work. Meanwhile donations to help restore the structure are pouring in worldwide at an unprecedented rate, reaching almost$ 1 billion within just two days after the fire. French President Emmanuel Macron described the fire as a “terrible tragedy”, but added, “the worst had been avoided”. Macron has promised that the French people will “rebuild the cathedral together”. “Notre Dame is ours, it's our literature, and it's our imagery. We will rebuild it. This is probably part of the French destiny, and we will finish it in the next five years.” Macron said, “Paris without Notre Dame? Madness.” While Macron is optimistic that the cathedral will be ready to welcome visitors by the Paris 2024. Summer Olympics, experts believe it will take a lot longer to restore the old structure.
1. What can we know about the Notre Dame de Paris?| A．Nothing remained after the big fire. |
| B．The famous writer Hugo wrote his famous story in it. |
| C．It is located in central Paris, with over 600 year's history. |
| D．It houses more treasures than the other Cathedrals in Europe. |
| A．No flames could be seen. | B．Tourists panicked at once. |
| C．Church officials didn't respect. | D．Visitors ignored the alert. |
| A．The pipe organ | B．Treasures in the cathedral |
| C．The Crown of Thorns | D．The wooden top of the cathedral |
| A．The police are actively investigating the cause of the fire. |
| B．Tourists are sure to visit the cathedral again in five year’s time. |
| C．Experts think to restore Notre Dame may take longer than expected. |
| D．The French government will have to bear the total expense of the restoration. |
